To add to our reading.
Bob
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From: PIPA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: PIPA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 17:52:51 -0500
To: PIPA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: New PIPA/KN Poll on Globalization, Trade and Farm Subsidies
Thursday, January 22, 2004
PIPA is a joint program of the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA <http://www.policyattitudes.org/> ) and the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM <http://www.puaf.umd.edu/CISSM/default.htm> ), School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland <http://www.umd.edu/> .
Majority Disapproves of Government Approach to Trade
Wants More Efforts to Mitigate Effects on Workers, Environment
Bush’s Handling of Trade Net Negative for Reelection
General Support for Trade Modest and Declining
Majority Opposes Subsidies to Agribusiness, Favors Them for Small Farmers
A new PIPA/Knowledge Networks poll finds that the majority of the American public is critical of US government trade policy and wants the government to make greater efforts to mitigate the effects of trade on workers at home and abroad, and on the environment. Presented three options, only 20% said "I support the growth of international trade in principle and I approve of the way the US is going about expanding international trade," while 53% said "I support the growth of international trade in principle, but I am not satisfied with the way the US government is dealing with the effects of trade on American jobs, the poor in other countries and the environment." Eighteen percent opposed the growth of trade.
Americans are likely to respond favorably to President Bush's new push for job training. Sixty-three percent said that "government efforts to help retrain workers who have lost jobs due to international trade" have not been adequate. This is up from 57% from a poll on globalization that PIPA conducted in 1999.
Overall, the Bush administration's handling of trade is a modest net negative for the president's reelection prospects. Only 21% said that the president's handling of international trade issues would increase the likelihood they would vote for him, while 37% said it decreased the likelihood.
Administration trade policymakers get fairly poor marks. Asked to rate the level of attention of administration trade policymakers to a number of priorities, majorities said the administration gives too little attention to working Americans (77%), "people like you" (76%), and the impact of trade on the environment (62%). Perhaps most striking, 61% said the administration was paying too little attention to "the growth of the overall American economy," up sharply from 36% in 1999.
Americans show concerns about the impact of trade on labor standards and the environment, with more than 9 in 10 favoring incorporating labor standards and environmental standards into trade agreements. If such moves slow down the growth of trade, more than 8 in 10 say that this is acceptable.
Read More..... <http://www.pipa.org/whatsnew/html/new_1_22_04.html#1>
For more information on the PIPA/KN study see:
Report of Findings <http://pipa.org/OnlineReports/Globalization/pdf/IntTradeRep_1_22_04.pdf>
Questionnaire <http://pipa.org/OnlineReports/Globalization/pdf/IntTradeQuest1_22_04.pdf>
The Americans and the World Digest <http://www.americans-world.org/>
A source of comprehensive information on US public opinion on international issues.
Program on International Policy Attitudes
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phone: (202)232-7500, fax: (202)232-1159
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